Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is seeking a parliamentary mandate to deploy military forces to Saudi Arabia to protect the kingdom from attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi insurgents. The move is designed to fulfill mutual defense obligations established under a trilateral treaty signed by Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan in August.
An unnamed AKP lawmaker told reporters that the proposed deployment would be strictly defensive, barring Turkish forces from engaging in any offensive operations against the Houthis. The initial wave of deployments is expected to focus on experts specializing in missile and drone defense. Previously, two Turkish officials indicated that Ankara would limit its support to military equipment and intelligence sharing, making a physical troop deployment a significant escalation in Turkey’s defense commitment to Riyadh.
The pact underpinning the planned deployment, known as the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, was ratified in early August in the Saudi city of Mecca. The agreement includes a collective defense clause modeled on NATO’s Article V, stipulating that an armed attack against any of the three member states is considered an attack against all of them. This mutual obligation gained urgency as Houthi forces escalated drone and missile strikes against Saudi civilian targets and airports, drawing widespread condemnation across the Muslim world.
Following Houthi strikes on sacred and civilian locations, the three signatory nations convened an emergency meeting in Riyadh on October 5 to coordinate a joint response. During the summit, Turkey and Pakistan agreed to supply necessary military forces and capabilities for rapid deployment within Saudi Arabia. Despite the agreement, nearly three weeks passed without visible Turkish or Pakistani troop deployments on Saudi soil, although Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif maintained that the armed forces of both nations were providing supporting roles in areas such as reconnaissance.
On Tuesday, the Turkish government acknowledged that the Mecca agreement had not yet been ratified by its legislature and initiated the formal ratification process. The legislative bill authorizing the troop deployment is scheduled for consideration following the return of Turkish parliamentary speaker Numan Kurtulmus from Kyrgyzstan, where he attended a regional meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States (TURKPA).
If the deployment bill clears parliament, Ankara intends to supply low- and medium-altitude aerial defense systems to Saudi Arabia, alongside expertise in drone technologies and electronic warfare. In exchange, Saudi authorities will provide Turkish forces with an operational base within the kingdom. Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Ministry officials are examining additional security expectations communicated by their Saudi counterparts.
